Luke 14:12-14 12And he said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and it might be repaid to you. 13But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for it will be repaid to you at the resurrection of the righteous.”
This passage takes place at the Pharisee’s home like the previous stories (verse 1). Jesus gives another story that shows the paradox and reversal of God’s kingdom as compared to the ways people typically act. These verses are another illustration of honor and reward. Verse 12 is about reciprocal honor. People tend to invite people they like for times of fellowship. Meals are significant times of social interaction. One motivation for inviting people to meals is to gain favor with them so that they will return the gesture. The people Jesus lists are those most people want to establish good relationships with: friends, family, and rich people. These are the type of people who can give some type of payback. Jesus is not saying that we should ignore these people or not try to win favor with them. Having good relationships with people is an important witness, but we need to review our motives. One problem with inviting
Those who are part of God’s kingdom must live differently. The type of people listed in verse 13 were often excluded from special meals. In Qumran, these people could not participate in the meals (1QSa 2:5–6). Even people in the ancient world glamorized the rich and beautiful. Today, these people are plastered all over the media. The poor and disabled are pushed to the side of society and usually neglected and even rejected. The people listed here cannot repay because they have nothing to offer, at least in the way of material goods.
This story is about motivation. Why would we invite friends, family, and the wealthy to a feast? One motive would be to get something back from them in the form of social collateral. The motivation is typically selfish. Why would we invite the poor and disabled? It cannot be to get any earthly reward because these people cannot repay with any social collateral. The motivation is to please God and receive his reward at the resurrection. The passive verb it will be repaid has God as the assumed subject. Another way to state this motivation is to love one’s neighbor, who might be poor, disabled, or in need. This story stands in sharp contrast to the arrogance of the Pharisees, who thought they were better than these types of people. Jesus’ radical kingdom ethic calls for humility and self-sacrifice, not to get people’s attention but to serve.
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